The
water issue in Ankara has been a great concern for a number of months now. Over the
summer, some areas of the city were without water for several days at a time, partly due
to a pipeline burst. Buildings with water tanks were less affected, but those without
private reservoirs had a difficult time.
Rumors are rampant as to what could happen in the coming months. Some will say that Ankara
has 40 days of water left. Someone else might provide a different answer. Furthermore,
there are news stories about how people are falling ill, possibly because of the water
situation.
 In the event of a complete water shortage, what will happen here on campus?
Bilkent is a massive campus with thousands of students and faculty members. To find out
more on the how the university is prepared, Bilkent News interviewed
Ramiz Akgün, Manager of the Construction and Maintenance:
Bilkent News: There is a real
possibility that Ankara may run out of water. What will happen on campus in that
situation?
Ramiz Akgün: The main campus currently uses
1500 m3's of water everyday. We have two water tanks on our main campus with a total of
4000 m3 capacity. We have water tanks in various buildings with a total of 450 m3
capacity. We can use 1000-1500 m3 of water from the Meteksan tanks everyday. So if we add
that up, the total is 6000 m3's- the equivalent to 4 days of water usage. The East campus,
which uses 800 m3's of water per day and has a total of 3300 m3's of stored water can also
be supplied with water for 4 days. When the city cuts off the water, we start using our
stored water. When the city resumes supplying water, it takes 8 hours for water to get to
the Main Campus, and, due to the land's geographic structure and the way the main ASKİ
water line has been laid out, 2 days for the city water to get to East Campus. A new pipe
will be built in 2 weeks that will connect the main ASKİ water line to the East Campus,
so they will get water at the same time as the main campus.
Bilkent News: There have been cases
over the summer when water was cut for over a week. Are additional steps being taken to
conserve the stored water that we have?
 Ramiz Akgün: We are training
the staff to be more conscious about using water, and we're adjusting reservoirs so less
water is used when flushing toilets. But beyond that, the most important thing we're doing
is our new plan for watering the grass and plants. The wastewater treatment system is
dumping as much as 200 tons of decontaminated water into the Bilkent Lake. We're not only
keeping the lake from drying up, but we're using it for the irrigation on campus.
Bilkent News: There are rumors surrounding the connection between the water issue and
the increase in patients in hospitals. Should we have any health or hygiene concerns?
Ramiz Akgün: No, Bilkent adds extra
chlorine to the water we get from the city to make sure it's clean for everyone to use.
Bilkent News: Is there anything we can do to help
conserve water?
Ramiz Akgün: Every small step you take
helps us conserve water. Don't leave the water running when you're washing your hands,
brushing your teeth or shaving. Instead of washing your fruits and vegetables under
running water, place them in a container with water in it. Try taking shorter showers.
Make sure the washing machine is fully loaded before using it. Use a dishwasher instead of
washing dishes in the sink. Fix leaky faucets. These may not seem significant to you, but
multiply the amount you save by the hundreds of other people who are also doing the same
thing. You can make a difference.
Thanks to Mr. Akgün for the interview!
Sera De Vor (AMER/III)
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